Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

The claim that the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection took place "according to the Scriptures" stands at the heart of the New Testament's message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel states this claim succinctly: in his narrative, Jesus declares, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Yet modern historical criticism characteristically judges that the New Testament's christological readings of Israel's Scripture misrepresent the original sense of the texts; this judgment forces fundamental questions to be asked: Why do the Gospel writers readÂ the Scriptures in such surprising ways? Are their readings intelligible as coherent or persuasive interpretations of the Scriptures? Does Christian faith require the illegitimate theft of someone else's sacred texts?
Â
Echoes of Scripture in the GospelsÂ answers these questions. Richard B. Hays chronicles the dramatically different ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel's Scripture and reveals that their readings were as complementary as they wereÂ faithful. In this long-awaited sequel to his Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, HaysÂ highlights the theological consequences of the Gospel writers'Â distinctive hermeneutical approaches and asks what it might mean for contemporary readers to attempt to read Scripture through the eyes of the Evangelists. In particular, Hays carefully describes the Evangelists'Â practice ofÂ figural readingâ€•an imaginative and retrospective move that creates narrative continuity and wholeness. He shows how each Gospel artfully uses scriptural echoes to re-narrate Israel's story, to assert that Jesus is the embodiment of Israel's God, and to prod the church in its vocation to engage the pagan world.
Â
Hays shows how the Evangelists summon readers to a conversion of their imagination. The Evangelists'Â use of scriptural echo beckons readers to believe the extraordinary: that Jesus was Israel's Messiah, that Jesus is Israel's God, and that contemporary believers are still on mission. The Evangelists, according to Hays, are training our scriptural senses, calling readers to be better scriptural people by being better scriptural poets.
Country USA
Brand Baylor University Press
Manufacturer Baylor University Press
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2016-05-31
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781481304917

Country	USA
Brand	Baylor University Press
Manufacturer	Baylor University Press
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2016-05-31
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781481304917

Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

You might also like...